Arjun had come down to study the
pollinators on specific plants so we met at Beacon Hill and travelled to
Western Heights. Once again to our
horror we saw cattle gazing in the nature reserve. The fence had fallen down and the pristine so
with freshly burnt veld the grass as green and delicious. No matter where one walked one now smelt dung
in the air and the spoor was everywhere!
Its most disconcerting for
nothing is being done to get rid of the cattle and thought there is said there
is communication between the Induna and Parks Board it seems to fall upon deaf
ears.
Eye’s focused downwards we came across
the beautiful endemic
On the forest edge we found
Keetia gueinzii and Ekebergia pterophylla in flower.
We came across one delicate Rotheca
hirsuta. After lunch we met up with Arjun
and Banisha, Tracy and Gail hiked down into forest to see if the Clivia’s and
Dietes butcheriana were in flower. They
were not and another trip would have to be done middle of October. We did come across Anemone(Knowltonia) brevistylis which
Banisha had studied and the delicate Geranium flanaganii flowering on the
forest edge left us gazing at its beautiful petals. We meandered back up the hill after a 9 km botany
exploration with our hearts content.
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| Anemone caffra RANUNCULACEAE South African endemic
 Helichrysum ecklonis |
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| Xysmalobium involucratum APOCYNACEAE |
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| Kohautia amatymbica RUBIACEAE |
 |
| Hypericum aethiopicum subsp. sonderi HYPERICACEAE |
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| Acalypha peduncularis EUPHORBIACEAE |
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| Eriocaulon dregei ERIOCAULACEAE |
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| Helichrysum ecklonis ASTERACEAE |
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| Gladiolus longicollis IRIDACEAE  |
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| Ekebergia pterophylla MELIACEAE |
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| Keetia gueinzii RUBIACEAE |
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| A cool cave in were we enjoyed our lunch and found Genet and Porcupine scats. |
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| Diospyros scabrida EBENACEAE South African endemic |
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| Tracy been snacked upon by a rock monster. Her glasses did not survive after she was spat out. |
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| Pelargonium luridum GERANIACEAE |
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| Anemone (Knowltonia) brevistylis - Forest form |
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| Geranium flanaganii GERANIACEAE |
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| Polystachya pubescens ORCHIDACEAE |
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| Hypoxis angustifolia var. buchananii HYPOXIDACEAE |
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| Pellaea calomelanos var. calomelanos Hard Fern PTERIDACEAE |
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| Drosera nidiformis DROSERACEAE |
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| Drosera natalensis DROSERACEAE |
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| Pondoland CREW Guests: Arjun and Banisha from India Dorothy, Alf, Anne, Hillary, Maggie, Gail and Tracy. My wish is to stay always like this, living quietly in a corner of nature." –Claude Monet |
